Nine-run fifth inning does in DeSales

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A Division II regional final yesterday in beautiful Carleton Davidson Stadium on the Wittenberg campus had the makings of a classic.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A Division II regional final yesterday in beautiful Carleton Davidson Stadium on the Wittenberg campus had the makings of a classic.

DeSales had lost only twice and won 19 consecutive games, the previous two by one run.

Kenton Ridge, last year's state runner-up, had won three straight one-run games before overpowering Cincinnati McNicholas by seven runs in a semifinal Thursday.

Extra innings, perhaps?

Yesterday's regional final didn't even go seven.

A white-hot Kenton Ridge offense battered DeSales pitching, collecting 16 hits and scoring seven times in the first two innings of a 17-7 win in five innings.

Kenton Ridge had nine runs in the top of the fifth, and the run rule ended the game after DeSales couldn't muster enough runs in the bottom of the inning to keep the game going.

"Give them all the credit, they hit the ball," first-year DeSales coach Tom Neubert said. "It was their day."

The pinging of Kenton Ridge's aluminum bats was incessant in every inning but the fourth, when the Cougars went down in order. They scored three in the first, four in the second and one in the third.

Still, Kenton Ridge only led 8-5 after four innings. DeSales collected six singles in nine first-inning plate appearances to score four runs and it added another on a run-scoring single by Tyler McCullough in the second.

"We came out really strong, but we should have just kept going," DeSales center fielder Ryan Curl said. "It doesn't matter what the other team is doing, it matters what we do."

The Stallions allowed the first eight batters to reach base in the fifth. Each of them scored, and the Cougars tacked on another with two outs to take a 17-5 lead.

DeSales (28-3) sent eight batters to the plate and scored twice in its half of the inning on a two-run single by Curl. It wasn't enough to earn another crack at Kenton Ridge (21-6).

"They kept fighting right till the end," Neubert said of his senior-laden lineup, which set a school record for victories. "I wished I could have coached them for four years. These kids never gave up."

DeSales designated hitter Justin Thompson went 3 for 3. Kenton Ridge catcher Tyler Rinker went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored three runs.